1. Field of the Invention
This invention is generally directed to trays which are selectively mounted on the side rails of beds and other articles of furniture and more specifically to detachable trays which may be slideably engageable with the side rails found on conventional water beds. The trays of the present invention may include a single or a plurality of vertically spaced support shelves which are mounted to the side rail of the bed frame in such a manner that the trays may be disposed at any point along the side rails including adjacent to the headboard associated with the bed frame. The lowermost shelf is integrally formed having portions thereof extendable outwardly of the side rail while other portions thereof are mounted in direct overlying relationship with respect to the side rails so that as the tray is moved toward the headboard of the bed frame, the cantilevered or outwardly extending portions of the lower shelf will be positioned outwardly with respect to the headboard and therefore spaced in close proximity thereto without interfering with the movement of the trays until such point as the cantilevered portions engage a wall which is positioned rearwardly of the headboard of the bed frame.
The trays are also provided with elongated mounting legs which are easily engageable with opposing portions of the bed frame so that the shelves may be attached and detached without use of mechanical fasteners and are attached in such a manner that the trays may be easily adjusted horizontally with respect to the bed rail but are retained in secure and non-pivoting relationship with respect thereto.
2. History of the Related Art
Heretofore, there have been many tray-like structures which have been designed to be attached and supported by bed rails and bed frames so as to provide a surface upon which various articles may be conveniently placed relative to a bed. Many of these trays have been specifically designed to facilitate user comfort in medical or hospital environments where a person convalescing is not capable of moving from the bed to obtain personal articles such as books, glasses, towels, writing paper and the like or wherein the trays provide a support for food, medicines or other liquids which are to be consumed by the patient in the bed.
In De Long U.S. Pat. No. 4,357,881, a hospital bed tray is disclosed which is directly attached to a side rail of a hospital bed. In the coventional hospital bed, the side rails are designed having two or more generally parallel and horizontally oriented safety rails which are interconnected at spaced locations by vertical supports. The DeLong hospital bed tray is designed to be supported with one end of the tray being in pivotable relationship with the upper safety rail with supports extending from the outermost portion of the tray downwardly and inwardly into engagement with the lower safety rail. With this structure, once the lower support brackets are secured in place about the lower safety rail, the brackets may be extended or collapsed as desired to elevate the tray with respect to the upper safety rail. Unfortunately, with this type of structure, the trays are not designed to be shifted horizontally or along the length of the safety rails of the bed. The support brackets engage the lower support rail in such a manner that they may not slide past the vertical supports which are provided between the upper and lower safety rails. In addition, the brackets are clamped to the safety rails to insure stability of the tray and therefore are not conveniently moved without having to make adjustment to the engagement of the brackets with the safety rails. Due to the specialized environment of a hospital bed, patients are not normally entering and leaving the bed when the safety rails are elevated. Therefore, it is generally not necessary to provide a table or tray which is selectively mounted to the safety rails and which can be slidingly moved along the safety rails to facilitate movement of a patient into and out of the bed.
Yet another example of prior art bedside table which is particularly adapted for use with hospital-type beds having safety rails is disclosed in Jenssen, Jr. U.S. Pat. No. 3,340,826. The structure of bed tray disclosed in Jenssen, Jr. is such that the tray surface may be supported over the uppermost safety rail so as to extend inwardly towards the patient in the bed. The tray includes a depending frame member which is engageable with the opposing surfaces of the safety rails so that the hooked upper end portion of the tray cannot be pulled from engagement with the uppermost safety rail. A latch is also provided to prevent movement of the tray relative to the safety rails and thereby maintain the tray in a fixed position when necessary. Although this structure does permit a selective sliding movement of the tray relative to the safety rails, the tray may not be moved beyond the point adjacent the headboard of the hospital bed as the tray support extends inwardly and would engage the headboard when the tray is moved in close proximity to the headboard. In addition, the tray is not designed for use with all types of bedside rails or safety rails as the upper mounting portion is designed to partially encircle the upper safety rail. Thus, if any vertical supports are provided between the safety rails, it would not be possible to slide the shelf past such supports. The tray is designed for use with safety rails having horizontally oriented bar-like members which are freely spaced in relationship to the remaining portions of the bedside rail or safety rails. A similar structure is disclosed in Staiger U.S. Pat. No. 3,037,214.
Other types of safety side rail mounted support trays for use with hospital-type beds include trays which are designed for a specific purpose or utility. In Herron et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,504,992 a hospital bed telephone holder is disclosed which includes a small tray for supporting a conventional telephone in cradled relationship with respect to the mounting frame which is secured over the upper safety rail by a hooked end portion. The remaining portion of the telephone support includes a depending support portion which functions similarly to the depending leg portions of the aforementioned references to Jenssen, Jr. and Staiger. With the structure of Herron et al., as the upper U-shaped portion does not wrap around the upper safety rail, the bracket may be moved along the length of the rail until instruction is met adjacent the headboard of the bed. Other examples of medical or hospital bed trays for use in medical facilities are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,703,265 which discloses an elongated track which is attachable to a bedside rail and which supports a tray that is longitudinally adjustable with respect thereto and U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,788 which discloses a support for optical laboratory instruments having mounting clamps which permit selective longitudinal adjustment of the equipment relative to a support.
The use of bedside tables has not been limited to hospital environments or for medical purposes. In Brown et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,033,627, an all-purpose tray or table is disclosed which may be clamped to a sideboard of a conventional bed frame. The table is mounted to the upper portion of a shaft which is rotatably carried in a vertical support which is secured to the bed frame by opposing bracket members. Unfortunately, with this type of structure, movement of the tray longitudinally of the bed frame would require that the mounting brackets be adjusted to release them from the sideboard of the bed. In addition, when the trays are positioned adjacent the headboard of a bed, the entire tray surface must be pivoted away from the bed so as to not interfere or engage with the headboard of the bed. This requires that a structure be provided for pivoting the tray which structure is not only costly but requires adjustment each time the tray is maneuvered to a position adjacent the headboard of the bed.
Other types of trays or attachments for beds are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,431,154 to Hamm, 4,203,175 to Heine and 3,629,881 to Hinshaw.